História e filosofia da ciência no ensino de Física: representações sociais de licenciandos/as em Física

Abstract

In this study, we seek to understand the Social Representations of undergraduate Physics students about the History and Philosophy of Science in Physics teaching and how they are related to teacher training. To develop this research, we used the mixed methods approach and theoretical-methodological support based on Serge Moscovici's Theory of Social Representations and Abric's Central Nucleus Theory. The empirical study was carried out in the city of Salvador/BA in Higher Education Institutions (UFBA, UNEB, IFBA) in which we had 40 participants. Data were collected through a questionnaire implicitly divided into two parts: a) the sociocultural part and b) the Free and Hierarchical Word Association Test part; and a semi-structured interview. For the analysis, we used Bardin's content analysis technique (2009) and Vérges' EVOC software. After the processes of analysis of the semantic field, categorization and structural organization of the Vergès Framework, of the evoked words, the results demonstrated that the undergraduates incorporated into their social representations about HFC a diversity of themes, which are focused on a combination of theoretical foundations, educational foundations, scientific practices and critical and social reflection. The words (Einstein, epistemology, historiography, scientific method and paradigm) make up the Central Core of the representations and attribute great importance to the theoretical and historical foundations of science. In addition, some evocations also brought up current issues such as inclusion and diversity in the scientific field (black scientists and women scientists); and also educational issues (learning, methodologies, didactic resources, teaching). Finally, the participants' responses during the interviews revealed, in general, a positive perception of HFC, highlighting its great potential as a didactic resource and as content in Physics teaching and teacher training, even with the Central Core of the representations much more associated with Scientific Foundations.